- Dana White
-
Dana White 
Born July 28, 1969
Manchester, CT, U.S.Residence Las Vegas, Nevada Nationality 
AmericanOccupation President Known for Managing The Ultimate Fighting Championship Net worth 
US$150 million (2010)[1]Height 5 ft 11 in Spouse Anne Children 3 Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.
Contents
Biography
Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969,[2] White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.[3]
White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms[4] in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.
While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president.[5] White currently owns 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.[3]
White failed to comment on a potential network broadcast deal at the UFC 136 press conference. The next day it was confirmed that the UFC and Fox broadcast networks had met a multiple year deal.[6]
In a 2008 interview with Playboy, White revealed that he is an atheist.[7]
Controversy
Loretta Hunt
On April 1, 2009, White was videotaped in a verbal tirade against Loretta Hunt, a sportswriter for Sherdog, in response to an article she wrote. In the video posted on his YouTube account, White used derogatory language in an obscenity-laced rant. The video was pulled from his official UFC YouTube page but has been widely republished across the internet and come under fire, including by GLAAD for his use of anti-gay slurs.[8][9][10] White would later apologize for his slurs. He specifically did not include Hunt in the apology.[11] Hunt responded by saying "I stand by the story. It's accurate."[citation needed]
Charity
In December 2010 White donated $50,000 to the Fransisco Espinoza foundation. White donated approximately $8,000 to help pay for the brain tumor treatment of two-year-old British girl, Ruby Owen. The young girl's family had described themselves as being "shocked and over the moon". Ruby Owen's uncle, being a UFC fan had contacted White via email and asked if he could help by donating to the Ruby Owen fund raising website. White and Owen have never officially met.[12] In an act of compassion towards a fan, he gave $300 to one man without hesitation who said that he "just received a speeding ticket while racing across town to meet him".[13] Shortly after being named 2009 Nevada Sportsman of The Year, White added $100,000 from his pocket to the $250,000 total raised for the fund raising marathon sponsored by ESPN Radio 1100 for Las Vegas. [14]
Feud with M-1 Global
After signing negotiations with M-1 Global Russian Heavyweight MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko fell through in 2009,[15] White and the UFC became the subject of debate and criticism from fans and experts alike. On several occasions, White referred to Emelianenko as "a fake, a phony and a farce.[16] [17]
On June 26th, 2010 following Emelianenko's first legitimate defeat of his career to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum, White shared a simple ":)" via Twitter.[18] The same symbol was expressed by White following Emelianenko's 2nd round doctor stoppage loss to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the opening round of the 2011 Strikeforce GP.[19] White followed this with an insult to Fedor's manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein.[20] This began a war of words on the social networking site. M-1 Global’s director of operations, Evgeni Kogan, stood up for Finkelstein and invited White to repeat his words to Finkelstein in person. When fans attempted to reason with White, they were met with similar contempt and insults[21]
There is controversy over whether Fedor Emelianenko and White have actually met.[22] White has claimed to have met Emelianenko on a "crazy island in the middle of nowhere".[23] In 2011, Emelianenko denied that this encounter ever took place.[24]
Personal life
White and his wife have two sons and a daughter.[25] He is an atheist, and has stated that he is 'fascinated' by religion.[26]
Accomplishments
- Nevada Sportsman of the Year (2009)[27]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards
- Promoter of the Year (2005–2010)[28]
- World MMA Awards
- Leading Man of the Year 2010
- Armed Forces Foundation
- Patriot Award[29]
References
- ^ http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/ceos/dana-white-net-worth/
- ^ "Dana White Biography, Pictures, Videos, Relationships". FamousWhy.com. http://people.famouswhy.com/dana_white/.
- ^ a b McCarthy, Michael (2005-04-10). "Battles yield winning 'Fighter'". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2005-04-10-white-usat_x.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
- ^ Willert, Tim (1997-04-16). "Box aerobics class packs serious punch". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lasvegasnewspapers.com/. Retrieved 1997-04-16.
- ^ Wickert, Marc (2004). "Dana White and the future of UFC". Knucklepit.com. Mirror
- ^ "http://www.backstageol.com/interviews/backstageol-with-ufc-136s-dana-white-edgar-maynard-aldo-and-florian/". http://www.backstageol.com/interviews/backstageol-with-ufc-136s-dana-white-edgar-maynard-aldo-and-florian/. BackstageOL. http://www.backstageol.com/interviews/backstageol-with-ufc-136s-dana-white-edgar-maynard-aldo-and-florian/. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ http://www.playboy.co.uk/article/16388/playboy-interview-dana-white#texttop Playboy Interview: Dana White. Retrieved October 8, 2011
- ^ Marvez, Alex (2009-04-02). "White's rant sends UFC down dangerous path". Fox Sports. http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/9408882/White's-rant-sends-UFC-down-dangerous-path. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "White uses slurs in video blog". ESPN. 2009-04-02. http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=4038031. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "UFC boss curses out female reporter in tirade". Fox Sports. 2009-04-02. http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/9407680/UFC-boss-curses-out-female-reporter-in-tirade. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "White sorry for anti-gay slur". ESPN.com. April 3, 2009. http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=4038944.
- ^ http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Fighter-donates-163-5-000-Ruby/article-1873267-detail/article.html
- ^ http://www.fightofthenight.com/news/dana-white-pays-for-fans-300-speeding-ticket/
- ^ http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/video_reviews/111544
- ^ http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/08/03/fedor-emelianenko-signs-with-strikeforce/
- ^ http://www.5thround.com/42475/dana-white-fedor-emelianenko-is-a-fake-a-phony-and-a-farce/
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Fedor-Emelianenko-1500
- ^ http://www.tekkenphilippines.com/dana-white-twitter-on-fedor-vs-werdum-fight-a-very-big-smiley.html/1008/
- ^ http://sportifi.com/news/Dana-White-Twitter-account-bashes-MDone-Vadummy-and-butthurt-Fedor-fans-727261.html
- ^ http://www.5thround.com/68044/dana-white-issues-lengthy-response-to-fedor-emelianenko-loss/
- ^ http://mauricethefishrecords.com/dana-white-twitter-war-ufc-president-destroys-fedor-fans-after-loss-to-silva-bleacher-report.html
- ^ http://www.mmafighting.com/2009/07/15/will-someone-introduce-dana-white-to-fedor-emelianenko/
- ^ http://www.fightline.com/fl/news/2010/1101/533430/dana-white/
- ^ http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/02/08/fedor-emelianenko-considered-retirement-before-loss-to-werdum/2
- ^ "UFC boss fights clock Gung-ho White wishes there were more hours in day". ReviewJournal.com. 2009-07-07. http://www.lvrj.com/news/50118557.html. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ "Dana White Tells Playboy About His Atheism, Steroid Use and Love for Donald Trump". MMA Fighting. http://www.mmafighting.com/2008/08/14/dana-white-tells-playboy-about-his-atheism-steroid-use-and-love. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ "Dana White honored as "Sportsman of the Year" while $2K awarded to The Caring Place. Dana White has been quoted as saying "June 26, 2010 is the happiest day of my life.". MMAjunkie. 2009-07-27. http://mmajunkie.com/news/15646/dana-white-honored-as-sportsman-of-the-year-while-250k-awarded-to-the-caring-place.mma. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (January 26, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Campbell, CA): 1–40. ISSN 10839593.
- ^ http://www.mmamania.com/2009/03/19/ufcs-dana-white-accepts-patriot-award-for-humanitarian-efforts-to-raise-money-for-injured-soldiers/
External links
Categories:- Living people
- 1969 births
- Mixed martial arts people
- People from Manchester, Connecticut
- American atheists
- American skeptics
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